If the USTA offered to let your child come and train for free would you let them go? I would have to say yes because of financial reasons. I would rather train full time with my daughters coach but financially my wife and i could not afford it. I know people talk bad about player development but if your child was given the chance to train there and everything was free would you say no?

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I'd take it in a heartbeat. Give it 6 months and evaluate. Can't imagine being in a pool of the most talented players would be anything less than beneficial.

That being said, you have to know your kid. Are they open minded enough to change coaches? Will they be home sick? Are they good being a small fish in a big pond? Etc.

I'd take it in a heartbeat. Give it 6 months and evaluate. Can't imagine being in a pool of the most talented players would be anything less than beneficial.

That being said, you have to know your kid. Are they open minded enough to change coaches? Will they be home sick? Are they good being a small fish in a big pond? Etc.

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Compared to top level schools the education they receive at USTA HP is dramatically inferior starting in 8th grade. Before that it may be OK. Kids at top high and middle schools are putting in solid 8 hours a day of high level instruction with top teachers and quality study time (subtracted out lunch, study halls, home room, etc). AP US History alone kids spend average of 2 hours a day. USTA HP kids average 3 hours a day combined study and class time. Just not enough time to learn 5 honors and/or AP classes like Pre-Calc, AP English, Lab science etc.

Dude....my first line said "I can only speak for us"...... that pretty much says it all....to me they were a waste.

I hated college, I hated high school. I started my first business, a mail order deal, in dad's basement at age 12. I spent my entire high school and college years praying for them to end so I could go into business. But mom wanted us to go to college so I did.

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I hated high school with a passion,BUT I LOVED college. Im not saying anything is wrong with the way you feel im just sharing with you how i feel about it.

Dude....my first line said "I can only speak for us"...... that pretty much says it all....to me they were a waste.

I hated college, I hated high school. I started my first business, a mail order deal, in dad's basement at age 12. I spent my entire high school and college years praying for them to end so I could go into business. But mom wanted us to go to college so I did.

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You are one strange guy... those were the highlights of my life. Only people I knew who hated it were the antisocial ones... the bullied ones.. or the ones that were flunking.

She has pretended to run stores with her stuffed animals since she was 4 years old. Perhaps entrepreneurs run in families. She is not a sit down learner, yet is very smart. Unless we fill her full of Ritalin, she is not going to be a traditional school type of kid.

Compared to top level schools the education they receive at USTA HP is dramatically inferior starting in 8th grade. Before that it may be OK. Kids at top high and middle schools are putting in solid 8 hours a day of high level instruction with top teachers and quality study time (subtracted out lunch, study halls, home room, etc). AP US History alone kids spend average of 2 hours a day. USTA HP kids average 3 hours a day combined study and class time. Just not enough time to learn 5 honors and/or AP classes like Pre-Calc, AP English, Lab science etc.

She has pretended to run stores with her stuffed animals since she was 4 years old. Perhaps entrepreneurs run in families. She is not a sit down learner, yet is very smart. Unless we fill her full of Ritalin, she is not going to be a traditional school type of kid.

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TCF, in elementary school, they rarely have to sit and listen to teachers. Most of the time they are moving around, doing art projects, or playing outside.
I understand your reasons for home schooling, but let your child try elementary school, if she doesn't like it, then take her out.

Wow, quite a labeler aren't we? I am still close friends with many from high school and college....loved the people. Hated being scheduled and having to sit still in class and having to take courses in things that did not interest me to fulfill certain course requirements.

Highlights of my life were meeting my lady, seeing the ultrasound of my kid, her being born, numerous family trips, building and selling a business. Not sure if high school being the 'highlight' is all that wonderful to be honest with you....kind of sad considering people live to be 100 these days. But maybe thats why I see so many 40 year olds with the same hair do they had at the prom! Wow, kind of depressing to think that 4 years at a high school, with kids you did not select to be around, told what class to go to and when, would be the highlight of an entire life.

Knowledge of US history is important. What's more important is learning how to read carefully, synthesize material, and think critically. Sure you get some of that in USTA HP schooling, but not enough. Compared to some of the better private high schools: Deerfield, Phillips and public: Stuyvesant, Bronx School Science...well there is no comparison. SAT scores from those schools are exceptional. Don't know what they are from USTA HP but I would want to know before enrolling my kid. I am torn by all this like some of you. The time needed to do well in 6 tough classes makes it very difficult to train and compete in tennis.

Knowledge of US history is important. What's more important is learning how to read carefully, synthesize material, and think critically. Sure you get some of that in USTA HP schooling, but not enough. Compared to some of the better private high schools: Deerfield, Phillips and public: Stuyvesant, Bronx School Science...well there is no comparison. SAT scores from those schools are exceptional. Don't know what they are from USTA HP but I would want to know before enrolling my kid. I am torn by all this like some of you. The time needed to do well in 6 tough classes makes it very difficult to train and compete in tennis.

IMG would be great!!! I wouldnt send her to Maccis even if it was free. After being there and seeing what its all about it would be such a waste of time. I didnt see it at first and thought Rick was great but once i got home and realized all Maccis is is a money machine. All Rick does is gives privates for 300 an hour and uses a few buzz words and name dropping to make u think hey this guy knows tennis but after being around my daughters new coach i realized Macci is a JOKE!! I mean WHO has Rick produced in the last 20 years??? Word of advice dont get suckered into the Macci scam like i did.

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has your kid been offered to train at USTA and you are deliberating an actual scenario, or a hypothetical one?

TCF is spot on here , we have homeschool our player since 1st grade and he is quite the player but his most significant compliments have been his manners, his ability to hold great conversations with substance , has solid goals set up for now and the rest of his life, you find 2nd year college kids still looking for a major these day its the majority the others are usually set up for the family business .

The problem with that is all the top ranked colleges are making A.P.classes a must. If you dont have multiple passed A.P. classes on your transcript good luck getting in. It would be almost impossible making a 4 on the A.P. U.S history without given at least 2 hours a night on that one subject.

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Just here to say that yes, you need a ton of AP/IB classes to get into top colleges, but for most classes it's nowhere near 2 hours of work per night.

the USTA is not supposed to care about education. They better not be wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on kids to worry about weather they are educated enough. If I was Pmac, I wouldnt want them doing any school at all.

TCF is spot on here , we have homeschool our player since 1st grade and he is quite the player but his most significant compliments have been his manners, his ability to hold great conversations with substance , has solid goals set up for now and the rest of his life, you find 2nd year college kids still looking for a major these day its the majority the others are usually set up for the family business .

Going to college can be the best thing in the world if you go with a purpose and learn a useful body of knowledge.

The problem with college is that many kids go to get a piece of paper, taking whatever subjects are easiest, and partying as much as possible. Then they see when they get out that they are deep in debt and can't get a job with their degree in whatever-it-is-studies.

The problem with college is that many kids go to get a piece of paper, taking whatever subjects are easiest, and partying as much as possible. Then they see when they get out that they are deep in debt and can't get a job with their degree in whatever-it-is-studies.

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That's what happens when they don't take their academics seriously or play too much tennis in high school. They end up at a juco or some party school with low academic standards.

Said it many times before, high level tennis and high level academics are mutually exclusive. It is a very special kid who tries and succeeds at both in the long run.

the USTA is not supposed to care about education. They better not be wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on kids to worry about weather they are educated enough. If I was Pmac, I wouldnt want them doing any school at all.

TCF is spot on here , we have homeschool our player since 1st grade and he is quite the player but his most significant compliments have been his manners, his ability to hold great conversations with substance , has solid goals set up for now and the rest of his life, you find 2nd year college kids still looking for a major these day its the majority the others are usually set up for the family business .

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Coach, it's good he is well mannered and can converse well. That is different from being well educated. I'm sure you realize that the average SAT score in the top high schools is around 2100. Specifically, Stuyvesant's "average" SAT score is 2090. From everything I have heard from college coaches, there is usually 1 or 2 home schooled tennis kids scoring at that level, usually a girl. When it comes to SAT scores kids home schooled for tennis cannot compete with the graduates of the top high schools.

There is more to it than just that. We like to travel, I do not want her acting like the other kids I see her age, I do not agree with traditional learning methods as being the best. By age 8-9 kids at schools are pigeon holed....you are a jock, you a nerd, you pretty, you the fat kid, you the braniac, you at this lunch table, you a cool kid, and on and on. I just am not into that whole scene.

Lots of reasons we homeschool. Its perfect for us.

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Well, couple of thoughts:

One, your high school experience might not mirror her high school experience as you are not the same people.

Two, elementary school, the earlier grades, is where the kids learn to sit still.
Yes, it is a process. Most kids learn in nursery school, but it is never too late.

Three, if you are trying to avoid the mean girls who are into clothing, hanging out at the mall, and stealing each other boyfriends,
you should look into private schools, the most academic ones.
Some private schools have a dress code, but more importantly, they have a code of conduct.
You don't behave, you don't maintain a certain average, you are disrespectful, you are out.
No contract for the next year.
The private schools are not beholden to the student and the family, you are beholden to them.
And the girls won't have time to be mean to each other, they are too busy studying.

Coach, it's good he is well mannered and can converse well. That is different from being well educated. I'm sure you realize that the average SAT score in the top high schools is around 2100. Specifically, Stuyvesant's "average" SAT score is 2090. From everything I have heard from college coaches, there is usually 1 or 2 home schooled tennis kids scoring at that level, usually a girl. When it comes to SAT scores kids home schooled for tennis cannot compete with the graduates of the top high schools.

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I will be the 1st to tell I am not big on school and I am glad my player takes his time aboutg getting it done , having said that he just finished for a break and ended up holding a 3.9 that included 4 Ap courese and 2 other junk courses and his last 3 test score sent back were all above 90% .

Out of all the parents on here probably the only kid I would work with is TCF's not because I like him , I find him arrogant but everything he has said about the way he is raising his daughter is at the highest level and that is where its at, how they are progammed from the beginning "at home"and public school seems derail and program attitudes and other things we don't care for as parents .

To what end? If you think it is the moral obligation to learn about history, fine. But not to earn a living. This is an increasingly global economy and top money earners can be from any country and companies do business world wide. I doubt the connected Ivy Leaguers that run the economy give a dang about US history.

By the way....who decides how to present the history? For example, the 2000s can be presented is very different ways depending on the political bent of the professor.

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TcF your dead wrong that's our problem history repeats itsself whether short term or long term and we don't learn from and our country is a disaster because of it ,example teenage pregnancy ! Don't want to get into it but think of history and all it contains we can learn from from the Romans to the Revevoltions that have taken place .

History is probably the most important subject for the world to learn from .

I will be the 1st to tell I am not big on school and I am glad my player takes his time aboutg getting it done , having said that he just finished for a break and ended up holding a 3.9 that included 4 Ap courese and 2 other junk courses and his last 3 test score sent back were all above 90% .

But remember college is not the goal .

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Grades from a home school don't mean much. All the kids I have talked to are above a 3.5, many at 4.0. The key measure to compare is the SAT. The average home school score is 1065, math and reading. Stuyvesant 1400. Laurel Springs does not say what its average SAT is except to say it is over the national average. That is consistent with the 1065, which is over the national average. I believe most hp junior tennis players are bright and could attend a top high school and do well. My point is parents should recognize that when they home school for tennis in the preteen and teen years they are making a choice of tennis over academics. Not saying that is good or bad. Just that this is what the evidence says.